Fate Revealed

by M E Robinson

  As they watched, the flames began to eat at Wylls’ shirt, the fire consuming the bloody cloth. Slowly, the flames burned, embers ascending the hot drafts of air towards the clear night sky. Solemnly, Eric watched as Wylls’ body was consumed by the fire, this was the first non-monstrous NPC he’d seen die and it had been far more real than he’d expected. Wylls had fought so hard to survive, clawing at the ground and searching for a way to live even after the wolf had torn his throat wide open.

  Glancing at Owin, Eric saw a tear roll silently down the man’s face, reflecting the firelight as it slid down his cheek. Now that he had the chance, Eric took a better look at the militiaman. He looked young, with a youthful face and light brown hair. He couldn’t have been more than twenty years old, with a face not yet hardened by the ravages of war. Unlike Wylls’ who’d been more classically handsome, Owin had a more heavyset appearance, with the signs of a small belly poking out from his tunic despite the hardships of scouting life. His low cheekbones and slightly overhung brow pointed to a low birth, but the intelligent light in his eyes showed why he had been trusted with the essential role of scout by the Kingdom.

  As the flames licked the sky, Owin turned, “We’d best be going before this fire attracts unwanted visitors. It’s still several hours to Tonbura village if I’m reading the stars correctly.”

  “Will the fire not ignite the forest?”

  “Too damp for that, and I built the pyre in the middle of the clearing. We shouldn’t have to worry about forest fires for now,” Owin explained. “Plus if it does start a fire, perhaps it will make us harder to track,” he added grimly.

  With one last look at Wylls’ body, now burning brightly as the fire consumed what had once been a fellow soldier, Eric followed Owin out of the clearing as they set off southwards, making for Tonbura Village.

  Checking his event log, Eric was surprised by just how many skill levels he’d gained in the fight. He’d only levelled up a few skills; however, each skill that had levelled up had received multiple levels. Even better, despite not having a new skill reach Beginner 10, he’d managed to reach level five somehow. Clearly levelling involved more than simply reaching Beginner 10 in a skill, he mused as he looked at the log in detail.

  [Basic Archery has reached Apprentice 5]

  [Charged Shot has levelled up to Beginner 6]

  [Basic Evasion has reached Apprentice 5]

  [Evasive Shot has levelled up to Apprentice 2]

  [Basic Flame Magic has reached Beginner 8]

  [Multi-Linked Flame Strike has levelled up to Beginner 5]

  [You have levelled up to level 5! Stats have been updated]

  All Stats +1

  Health +10

  Mana +10

  [Quest Received: Escort Owin to Tonbura Village]

  You’ve saved the remaining militia member. But he’s informed you that he’s actually a scout who is carrying important information. Escort him to safety and let him meet Alistair.

  Reward: Increased reputation with the Novanalba Militia. Increased reputation in Tonbura Village. ???

  Closing the event log, Eric practiced the Wind Blade spell as they walked, guiding the mana through the mana paths and infusing it into the runes for the spell. Once the spell was complete, he allowed the mana to fizzle, the runes dissipating uselessly into tiny sparkling motes of light that fell silently to the forest floor.

  After roughly ten minutes of this, Eric was rewarded with a new system message.

  [You have learned: Basic Wind Magic!]

  [You have learned a new spell: Wind Blade!]

  Quickly opening his spellbook, he checked the details of the spell.

  Wind Blade: Common Air Magic

  A common form of attack air magic. The caster can infuse more mana into the blade to increase both the size and damage of the blade. However, the mana cost will increase proportionally to the size of the spell. Increasing your proficiency with the spell will allow you to increase the maximum amount of mana that can be infused into the spell.

  The most interesting thing about his new spell, apart from the fact that he’d learned two new runes to play with, was that it was rated as a Common spell instead of a basic like his other three were. The casting time was also slightly higher due to the complexity of the runes, but it could probably be reduced if he became more proficient at drawing the runes. He’d already managed to shave over a tenth of a second off the cast time of his Arcane Strike simply by learning to better draw the rune and infusing his mana more efficiently. So it should be possible to do the same with Wind Blade if he practiced diligently.

  Eric grinned. Now that he finally had a spell that was suitable for use in the forest, he could rely more heavily on magic. Arcane Strike was okay, but its damage felt lacking against anything stronger than a demonic rabbit. He’d have to test to see if Wind Blade was powerful enough to use against strong foes, but his instincts as a gamer were telling him that this was a strong spell for his level.

  - Chapter Thirty-Two -

  The Hunt

  As Eric and Owin walked stealthily through the forest, skirting around fallen trees, avoiding caves and hills, and following the stars south as the morning slowly began to dawn, Eric began to wonder how he should deal with his rapidly dwindling supply of arrows. By the time he’d fought the elite wolf, he’d already been down to only twelve arrows. A number having been lost either by firing them into the woods never to be seen again, or by the bodies of the monsters they’d slain, rolling over and breaking the shafts of his arrows in what seemed like one last act of defiance. Did beasts understand the concept of financial wellbeing? Eric pondered as he stared sadly at the remaining two arrows in his quiver.

  Engrossed in his mourning over the loss of two silver, Eric walked straight into Owin who was holding up a hand for silence. Glaring at Eric, Owin motioned for him to get down.

  “Wolves,” he mouthed. Pointing to a small cave roughly a hundred meters in front of them.

  “Can we sneak past?” Eric mouthed back.

  Owin shook his head, “Too big a detour. I’m positive that the goblins are hot on our trail. Especially after we cremated Wylls. We need to go through them.”

  “There are goblins on your tail?” Eric asked incredulously, forgetting to whisper.

  Owin winced and raised a finger to his lips. “Yes. I can tell you later, for now we need to fight our way past these wolves. Judging by the size of the den there shouldn’t be more than three of them,” he whispered back.

  Pointing to his quiver, Eric held up two fingers, “I’ve only got two arrows left,” he mouthed.

  “Use your sword. You received militia training right?”

  As Eric nodded uncertainly, Owin unsheathed his sword with a small schiing. “Let’s go,” he mouthed, creeping towards the wolves den. Nocking an arrow Eric followed along silently, staying alert for any signs of the wolves.

  Approaching the cave, he could make out two wolves lying inside, gnawing on the haunch of some unidentified animal. Twenty meters from the cave entrance, the forest thinned.

  Raising his hand, Owin looked back at Eric. “Ready?” he mouthed.

  Nodding in response, Eric took careful aim at the larger of the two wolves and used Charged Shot.

  Schwiii! The arrow screamed through the air. The wolves raised their heads at the noise, their ears standing up on alert. Before they could react any further, the arrow embedded itself in the skull of the larger wolf. Falling to the floor dead, its ally rose to its feet letting out a mournful howl as it dashed outside of the cave towards their position. Two more howls echoed the first wolf’s as behind it another pair of wolves appeared, both hard on the heels of the first wolf which was now already halfway across the clearing, headed for the bushes that concealed Eric and Owin.

  With a yell, Owin charged forward, meeting the first wolf with a slash of his sword. Nocking the second and final arrow to his bow, Eric took aim at a wolf flanking Owin and loosed the arrow which sprung from his bow like a
viper. Unfortunately for Eric, the wolf chose this moment to leap at Owin and the arrow hit its side instead of skewering it through the throat as he’d intended.

  Spinning around Owin slashed at the injured wolf as Eric drew his sword and dashed in to help. Clumsily slashing at the third wolf, Eric forced it back, allowing him to dash in and put his back against Owin’s.

  “What now?” he asked, holding his blade in a defensive posture.

  “No other choice, we have to kill them,” Owin responded grimly, dashing forward to strike at the injured wolf which leapt back with a snarl. Not letting up, Owin pressed the attack, raising his blade high and bringing it down upon the wolf’s body. Taking advantage of this, the largest of the three wolves threw herself at Owin’s exposed back, leaving the third wolf to deal with Eric.

  Holding the sword in front of him, Eric watched the wolf warily. Attempting to cast his new spell, he was interrupted by a quick swipe from the wolf’s paw. Abandoning his attempts to use magic, he brought the sword up into a guard position, his green eyes locked with the wolves golden ones. With a low growl, the wolf attacked, leaping towards him with fangs bared. Slashing clumsily, Eric inflicted a glancing blow on the wolf who yelped but finished the leap, landing on top of him and tearing at the arm he’d brought up to defend himself. Bringing the sword up high, he stabbed at the wolf which responded by tearing even more viciously at his arm, its paws clawing at his chest.

  Unable to use magic, Eric stabbed the wolf over and over again, engaged in a fierce battle over whose healthbar would collapse first. Had Eric still been level one, he may have lost, but fortunately he’d grown stronger since arriving in Novanalba. As his sword plunged into the wolf’s unprotected flank one last time, the wolf relinquished its grasp, finally falling to the ground dead.

  Turning, Eric prepared to help Owin only to realize that he was already finished his fight. As Eric watched, Owin struck the wolf once with his blade causing it to retreat backwards. Not relenting, Owin performed a swift dash, his feet moving in a blur that kicked up the dirt and grass around him as his swordpoint trailed behind him. Arriving in front of the backpedaling wolf he continued his dash, bringing his sword into a strong slash as he arrived in front of the wolf, dispatching it with an enormous chop to the neck as it furiously attempted to turn and retreat.

  As the wolf’s head dropped lifelessly to the ground, its body swaying briefly before joining the severed head, Owin wiped his sword on its fur and sheathed it. Eric’s mouth hung open as Owin regarded him critically.

  “I thought you said you’d received militia training? Your swordwork is awful,” he commented.

  “I received very brief training, I literally only know how to guard and slash at a training dummy,” Eric explained as he looted the wolf corpses, retrieving his two arrows.

  Sighing, Owin motioned for Eric to hurry as they continued onwards.

  “So you’re telling me you don’t know any sword skills? Apart from how to guard?” Owin asked incredulously. Eric spread his hands wide to show his helplessness.

  “I only got half an hour of sword training. Most of my hunting has been done with a bow.”

  Owin sighed at this revelation, “And you don’t have any arrows in your storage pouch?”

  “Do you think my quiver would be this empty if I did? These are my last two.”

  “Alright if you’re going to be useful at all, you’re going to need to know at least one sword skill. We don’t have time to stop though so I’m going to try and teach you as we move.”

  Suddenly reminded of the conversation they’d had just before the encounter with the wolves, Eric jolted up, “Right! What was that you said earlier about being chased by goblins?”

  “Wylls and I were tasked with scouting the recent monster movements. Yesterday we chanced upon a goblin encampment. We obtained some very valuable information after we captured and interrogated one of their sentries. But unfortunately we were discovered. We were forced to run south when we accidentally ran into that wolf. If we hadn’t been in such a hurry then there’s no way we would have missed the signs. Wylls would still be alive if it weren’t for those damn goblins,” Owin swore with a murderous look in his eyes.

  “And you saying they’re still chasing us?” Eric asked, as the words left his mouth loud howls filled the forest behind them, each howl echoing another. Own flinched at the sound, looking nervously in the direction they’d travelled.

  “Definitely. And Wylls’ funeral pyre will have alerted them to the direction we took. They have worg mounts but luckily the forest around here is very dense. As long as we stay on the move we should be able to reach Tonbura before they catch us,” Owin explained as he jumped over an enormous fallen tree. A demonic rabbit that was startled out of hiding attempted to charge him, but with a quick flash of his sword its head was sent flying. Continuing on as if nothing had happened, Eric was forced to jog to keep up with the experienced wilderness scout. Howls occasionally reverberating through the forest behind them.

  Opening his event log, he quickly checked the skills he’d gained in the fight.

  [Charged Shot has levelled up to Beginner 7]

  [Militia Swordsmanship has reached Beginner 7]

  [You have received 2 Fine Goose-feathered Iron Arrows]

  For the first time since arriving, his archery did not level up after the fight. Despite his charged shot striking the wolf, his skill remained at Apprentice 5. Whatever, I can figure it out later, Eric thought as he dismissed the log.

  As they forged southward, Owin began to explain the basics of the sword skill he’d used to dispatch the final wolf. The move was essentially a slash made while dashing, similar in theory to Eric’s Evasive Shot. One had to use the momentum of the dash to empower the attack, transferring the momentum into the sword and then using the strike to hit their enemy. The biggest flaw with the move according to Owin was that it left the user wide open. If the strike missed or if the opponent managed to dodge, then the extra momentum meant that the sword could not be brought into a guard position easily.

  “Thus the trick is not to miss. Use it as a one hit kill move, or to finish off opponents who are retreating,” Owin explained as Eric attempted once again to perform the footwork.

  “It’s difficult to do without stopping. Are you sure we don’t have time to stop? I learn pretty quickly,” Eric extolled but Owin stood firm. The howls had been growing steadily closer despite the breakneck pace Owin was taking through the forest. The pair had travelled the same distance in half an hour as Eric had in three, using game trails to flee southwards.

  “Normally I would teach you something a little more basic like the crescent slash, but we’re short on time and the goblins could catch up any second. We still have more than an hour before we arrive at Tonbura. If you weren’t so useless with the sword that I suspect you’d die to any random goblin private, then I wouldn’t have bothered teaching you at all,” Owin explained.

  Cringing at this harsh evaluation of his swordwork, Eric attempted the footwork once again, only to stumble and barely catch himself before he fell. With a sigh, he watched Owin moving steadily onwards in front of him, striding quickly through the forest like a man born to the woods. His gait unaffected by the many obstacles that barred their path. Hurrying after him, Eric continued to practice the attack as they travelled, though the notification to inform him that he’d learned a skill stubbornly refused to appear.

  Half an hour later, Eric was exhausted. Though his footwork had improved by leaps and bounds he still failed to learn the skill. Most likely because the slash itself was lacking, he assumed. His hard work, however, had rewarded him with a new notification.

  [Militia Swordsmanship has reached Beginner 8]

  Despite not using the skill in combat, he’d somehow gained another level in swordsmanship. Clearly skills did not require difficult fights to advance, they just helped.

  Fortunately, after another few minutes Owin and Eric emerged from the trees to discover the
river that flowed through the forest near Tonbura village. A large clearing separated the woods here, with the river flowing gently to one side, and a small rocky hill on the other. Small brush along the ground and the remnants of a firesite gave clues to their location.

  “We’ve reached the site of the militia’s training camp. We’re only a brisk fifteen minute march away from Tonbura now,” Owin informed him.

  Thanks to their fast pace, the goblins that Owin was worried about had still not appeared, despite the howls growing steadily louder throughout their flight. Optimistically, Eric hoped that they wouldn’t appear at all. Praying that nothing would appear now that they were less than fifteen minutes from Tonbura village, Eric’s hopes were shattered by three shadows that emerged from the trees to bar their path.

  “Well if it isn’t the player killer. This time you’re going to have a talk with us, whether you like it or not,” Tamira said threateningly.

  Behind her, Alexnir and Katzy stood firm, mana swirling threateningly around Katzy’s wand, warning him what would happen should he attempt to log out. Opening his mouth to explain the situation, Eric was cut off by the sound of a loud howl behind him.

  “They’ve arrived,” Owin said grimly.

  - Chapter Thirty-Three -

  Negotiations

  “Who’s arrived?” Katzy asked curiously, lowering her wand slightly.

  “Focus, Kat. We’re here for revenge, don’t let him distract you,” Tamira warned.

  “Goblins. This man is a scout with important news for militia Captain Alistair. He needs to get to Tonbura village as soon as possible, you have to let us through,” Eric implored, pointing to Owin’s tattered uniform.